Wednesday, February 3, 2010

a ballet sneak peek...

Outfit details: jeans: bdg/thrifted, socks/shoes: Target, shirt: ATC, sweater: thrifted
haha! so I woke up all early and took these photos and then I just got home and uploaded them to my computer and I realized that the shadow from my tripod is in every photo!  woops, I guess I wasn't really running on all cylinders this morning....
I thought I'd give you all a peek at one of my favorite parts of my job.  For those of you who don't know I work as a costumer at the KC ballet.  This means I pattern, sew, construct and alter everything that the dancers wear.  I really love what I call the "mock-up" stage of the costuming process, when we are creating costumes ourselves we work from a design (done by a professional, hired-on designer, or designed by our shop)  So we make a mock-up, which is the 
first "draft" of our pattern.  
design by Jennifer Carroll
In this instance I created a flat pattern based on some other good leotard patterns that we have in stock, so I drew out the shape that I thought would work ....
I placed the pattern on some scrap fabric and cut around the pattern, then wham bam ...thank you ma'am...  
...we have a leotard!
I like this aspect of my job because it takes a lot of problem solving, but then  it is really rewarding when I have an immediate product.  (It gets a bit more tedious later on in the process when I have to make 12 versions of the same leotard)  
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my job!  If you have any queries about any of this, feel free to ask!

3 comments:

Carole Buschmann said...

I like the realistic shadows and think they could become as symbol. I also loved seeing what you do Ms. Magician.

Angela said...

I love seeing your work! That sketch was also interesting. Not really a ballerina's figure?? I love your nerd style right now, but I love your skimpy summer style more!

Joey said...

haha, I love the summer style too! I am getting bored of this winter layering style.